The Not-So Scary, but oh-so sick Sept-Oct Trip Report-updated with day 4 & 5 pg.4

[aprilisis]

My little side TR from this weekend:
My friend, Sarah came up from Scranton, PA this weekend. We visit each other a couple of times a year now, but she grew up here & we have been friends since age 13 or so. She moved when we were about 21 or 22. She arrived Friday evening & was going to stay in a hotel- even though I insisted she stay with me. Well, I guess she requested a hotel in a certain area on hotwire & they put her in a different area of the city- the most dangerous area of the city, in fact. She said she was going to check in, anyways, just to see how the room was. She got to the room & I guess the sheets were in a pile on the floor, the mattress was leaning against the wall, the headboard was away from the wall, and there was food in various places on the floor. She went back to the desk to get another room & the girl at the desk said “hmm…that’s funny- that’s the third one tonight like that”. Sarah DID end up staying at my house- thank goodness! But this is why I won’t use those sites that reveal which hotel you are staying in until you pay. Since the area she wanted to stay in was only 10 miles from that area, they considered it the same area. I told her to write to Hotwire & let them know that the hotel was completely unacceptable AND in the worst section of Worcester.
Friday night we went to dinner & went to sleep early since we knew we would get up at 7 to head to Western Mass. Saturday morning, we headed to this restaurant run by this family who has a farm next door to it & they make their own syrup. We always get the syrup & they have the best waffles & pancakes ever. On the way there, we saw this house- I just love the simplicity of the decorations!!

We passed over the French King Bridge (over the Connecticut River):

Silly ATM:

This is the restaurant (and surroundings):

Some photos on the way to Yankee Candle:

Continued….

 

[aaaateamsgrandma]

As usual lovely pictures. That scenery is gorgeous. It is always so pretty here in the fall I never think about other places. But I could go there in a minute. Don and I want to do a tour when we retire to the New England states in the fall before SNOW. And super cold.

Glad you had a good weekend.

 

[aprilisis]

Ugh- I tried getting caught up on everyone's reports yesterday, but it was IMPOSSIBLE with dial-up at home!! I'm hoping to be caught up by the end of the week.

I hope you have a stupendous birthday. You are so deserving of one. Be sure to tell us all about the restaurant.

&

Ginny

Thanks!! I will DEFINITELY be filling you in on the restaurant- it was awesome! John didn't disappoint.

Hi! April
Love the US/IOA day...I hope it will be like that next year when we go; but, I doubt it.
It looked like ya'll had reserved the park all to yourselves! Sorry, to hear you were starting to feel bad so early on your trip!

As of now I plan to be at US/IOA and SW on the Sat, Sun and Mon after Thanksgiving. So, I'm sure wherever we are will be busy on that Sat & probably Sun.
That would be great if we are in WDW at the same time!!! we will have to def. set up a meet!!

Hoping everything goes better than planned for your brithday tonight!!
Connie

Thanks! I think getting to Universal at about 9:30am definitely helped as far as crowds go. I have been dying to get back to Sea World to go on Manta. If you DO go to Sea World, definitely feed the dolphins, sea lions, and rays!! And YES- we will definitely have to meet if we are there at the same time!!!!

OMG, that roller coaster does look intense! I don't know if I could handle that one!

What did you think of the Mummy? When we went to Universal we were all kind of disappointed with it.

That is funny- I really like the Mummy. I think maybe because I went on Twister right before the first time I rode the Mummy.
The new coaster is CRAZY, but awesome!!

 

[aprilisis]

As usual lovely pictures. That scenery is gorgeous. It is always so pretty here in the fall I never think about other places. But I could go there in a minute. Don and I want to do a tour when we retire to the New England states in the fall before SNOW. And super cold.

Glad you had a good weekend.

Thanks! Do you have any fall photos from your area? I would love to see some. I love the fall here SO much, but the winter is just an awful, freezing, desolate, depressing 5-6 months. I wish it could snow only on Christmas & then get warm again.

 

[aprilisis]

We stopped at Yankee Candle & I knew I might do a little shopping, but I never could have prepared myself for what I spent that day! I’m ashamed of myself. I bought quite a few candles since we blew through ALL of the ones we had during the ice storm we had last December (and lost power for a week!). I bought a mad libs book and a fashion design activity book for my cousin’s daughter for Christmas, a couple of car air fresheners, some chap stick, 3 Christmas tree Ornaments, some apple/caramel trail mix stuff, and a toy for Isis for Christmas. It adds up quick!
Yankee Candle’s flagship store in Deerfield, MA:

You can't tell from the photo, but it was "snowing" in this room.

The line to check out was crazy, but it moved quickly. We left here, stopped at my house, then ended up going to Wal-Mart for a car directional light for Sarah (her rear passenger side went out on the way to my house). Of course I can never get out of there without getting something. (this time it was a $10 frying pan, bat earrings for Halloween, and ingredients for veggie Chili)
Next up is the Roger Williams Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular!

 

[aaaateamsgrandma]

I will get you some. It is really pretty here. We have lots of hills also. I posted after you put up the UA and IOS pictures but it isn't there. I said how fun that would be. I'm not sure I can do some of the roller coasters. I don't think I'm that brave just yet. I would love to see Harry Potter. I'm listening to the half-blood prince now. I put them on my ipod and listen. I know I'm lazy. Seems like I never have reading time. I am reading the new Dan Brown. It's on the Ipod too. Nothing like diversity.

I hate winter. Truly I do. I don't like cold or sleet or snow or any of it. We get really bad ice storms in our area.

 

[aaaateamsgrandma]

Yankee Candle looks like fun. I always wanted to go to the Longenbarger Basket store in Ohio. I love those expensive things. I have kinda quit collecting things. I've run out of room so now everytime Sandi comes to visit I send it home with her.

You do so well with your pictures.

 

[longing2Batdisney]

your pictures of the house, resturant, and the river are beautiful!!! we do not have fall here...or I should say we have summer, fall, spring, and summer again!
Your day at Yankee Candle looks like a lot of fun!! what a festive place!!
have a great day

 

[mickeystoontown]

Oh my! You got some fantastic pictures. We just have a few hill here and there and you can't see the beautiful Fall colors.

I would have been in hog heaven at the Yankee Candle Store and my pocketbook would have been sobbing crying. I am a tart fanatic. I have my potpourri pot plugged up 24/7 at my house. I go through Yankee Candle tarts like crazy!

 

[aprilisis]

I will get you some. It is really pretty here. We have lots of hills also. I posted after you put up the UA and IOS pictures but it isn't there. I said how fun that would be. I'm not sure I can do some of the roller coasters. I don't think I'm that brave just yet. I would love to see Harry Potter. I'm listening to the half-blood prince now. I put them on my ipod and listen. I know I'm lazy. Seems like I never have reading time. I am reading the new Dan Brown. It's on the Ipod too. Nothing like diversity.

I hate winter. Truly I do. I don't like cold or sleet or snow or any of it. We get really bad ice storms in our area.

I listen to books on my iPod, too! I drive 120 miles per day back & forth to work and stare at a computer screen all day, so my eyes are NEVER good for reading at the end of the day. Isn’t it great to be able to do that?? I downloaded “Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination” by Neal Gabler- it is 14 parts long! I still haven’t finished. I will have to get the Harry Potter books- that sounds like it would be great entertainment for my drive. It takes my mind off of the fact that I wish I could be home in 5 minutes instead of an hour or more!

Yankee Candle looks like fun. I always wanted to go to the Longenbarger Basket store in Ohio. I love those expensive things. I have kinda quit collecting things. I've run out of room so now everytime Sandi comes to visit I send it home with her.
You do so well with your pictures.

I’ve never heard of that store in Ohio- you know I’m totally going to be Googling that in 5 minutes!!!

your pictures of the house, resturant, and the river are beautiful!!! we do not have fall here...or I should say we have summer, fall, spring, and summer again!
Your day at Yankee Candle looks like a lot of fun!! what a festive place!!
have a great day

Thanks! You know- I would trade in Fall, though, if I didn’t have to deal with winter- I HATE winter!!!

Oh my! You got some fantastic pictures. We just have a few hill here and there and you can't see the beautiful Fall colors.
I would have been in hog heaven at the Yankee Candle Store and my pocketbook would have been sobbing crying. I am a tart fanatic. I have my potpourri pot plugged up 24/7 at my house. I go through Yankee Candle tarts like crazy!

Thanks! I went WAY overboard at Yankee Candle! I love the seasonal scents- I think Christmas Wreath is my favorite…though I heard they are coming out with a “Christmas Tree” scent soon.
Oh- I'm almost caught up on your TR, too!

 

[aprilisis]

This is SUPER photo-heavy & some are tough to see and/or a little blurry- sorry!!!
We waited for John to get to my house to go to dinner & the Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular. The J-o-L thing was at Roger Williams Park & Zoo a little south of Providence, RI- about 1 hour away from my house. I was hoping to get dinner before the Jack-o-Lanterns, but that didn’t happen. Turns out, John’s phone was off (he had no clue) & without constant texting from me, he pokes around forever & shows up late. So needless to say, he didn’t get to my house until 8:30pm. We drove down to Roger Williams Park & got there at about 9:30. We pulled into a parking area of chaos- cars going in every direction, driveways, rotaries- I had no idea which way to go. John decided to park & follow the people on foot. That was a smart move! We followed a bunch of people & eventually the line stopped moving. We were all pretty hungry & it was getting a little chilly. They were playing Halloween music while we were waiting in line & I heard “Cruella DeVil”- it made me sad to think of the entire Halloween party I missed at the MK the week before. We waited in line for AN HOUR before we even reached the gate! We paid our $12, went through the gate, got a pretzel, and got in the line of people that was slowly moving through the park to the Jack-o-Lantern area. We waited about 90 minutes before we saw anything. Now…there were little places to grab food & things along the way, so that was good. None of us were crabby, but I know Sarah was freezing. It had to be in the mid-40’s that night. I was ok until the last 30 minutes. The only annoying thing were the people leaving that felt the need to tell us how much longer we would be waiting as they walked by…MYOB, people!!! When we DID finally make it to the Jack-o-Lanterns, it was awesome:

Continued in next post….

 

[aprilisis]

We got home at about 12:30am- poor John had to work at 5:30am. I felt SO bad because I didn’t think it would be so long of a wait. The next morning Isis woke me up at about 9am to go out, so of course she woke up Sarah, too. I made some omelets & breakfast potatoes & we chatted for a while. Sarah left at about noon. The visit seemed too short, but I’m sure I will be going to Scranton soon. I spent the day making a veggie chili & doing some household chores. It was an early night- John & I watched our Sunday night tv & that was it. The next day (Monday) was my birthday & I was a lazy slug all day. This was me: John took me to dinner that night at a place I had been dying to try for a long time. It is called bocado & it is tapas style dining (which is just ordering a bunch of small portioned plates instead of one big entrée). We got there at about 7:15. It was a nice, dark place decorated in deep reds and it was almost empty. We sat in a very comfortable booth. John ordered a Mango Sangria & I got the “Fuente Milano” light white wine. I had never been to a tapas place before, but I guess people order a couple of things, start eating, then order a couple more, and so on. So we decided to order the fried goat cheese with honey & almonds (and a tiny slice of cranberry sauce) and gazpacho. Both were fantastic, but that fried goat cheese was perfectly golden & crispy on the outside & creamy on the inside- with a tiny bit of the cranberry, it was to die for. Next we ordered mini egg tortillas with manchego, red pepper & green bean with basil almond pesto; grilled rosemary bread, garlic, tomato, Spanish olive oil, flake sea salt; roasted baby potatoes with saffron & tomato aioli & black truffle oil; and John got fried calamari with garlic, lemon, parsley & orange horseradish cream. The sauce on the roasted potatoes was AMAZING. Believe it or not, we still wanted more after that!! So we ordered whipped roasted garlic, spinach & feta dip with grilled pita bread; chopped lettuce, red onion, hearts of palm, tomato, avocado, manchego; and John was still SO hungry that he ordered the 20 oz grilled sirloin steak rubbed with hot smoked paprika, garlic & herbs with shredded manchego & balsamic onion marmalade! I don’t think he realized it was meant to be a WHOLE MEAL FOR 2 PEOPLE. When that showed up at our table, I could not stop laughing!!!

Needless to say, we brought a lot of food home. We promised my mom we would save room for ice cream cake…and we went to eat some with her & my stepdad. John surprised me with 2 dozen roses & some gift cards, too. I would have been happy with just dinner! Then he apologized for the gift cards being impersonal (which was totally unnecessary!!!!!)& told me he wanted to get me something else, but since it was “custom” he couldn’t get it on time. He said that will be for Christmas now- and I would be lying if I didn't say I am totally curious. I was just so happy that the day was a very good one. That is the end of my off-topic mini-TR. Thanks for indulging me! Next up, I will be back to our Animal Kingdom day!

 

[aaaateamsgrandma]

I get my dvd books at the libraray for free and put them in Itunes. You can't put them in books but I add the title to my playlist and put them there. And I generally only keep one at a time to listen. I also do ebooks from Barnes & Noble but those you actually have to read. They are only 9.99 and they are on your folder forever. I have a few movies too but again only one at a time because of the space they take up. I love suspence mysteries. Right now my fav author is Harlan Cobin. I have read all of his books. Very good.

That basket place used to do home parties. I don't know if they still do cause I finally quit buying.

 

[aaaateamsgrandma]

What a wonderful birthday you had. Excellent. That food sounds delish. I love tapas. I feel I can at least quit when I want. The bad thing is that it all sounds so good. Wonder what your surprise is going to be. Now you have us curious too..

Those JoL are amazing. I can't even cut a pumpkin in half let alone something like that. How fun.

 

[aprilisis]

I get my dvd books at the libraray for free and put them in Itunes. You can't put them in books but I add the title to my playlist and put them there. And I generally only keep one at a time to listen. I also do ebooks from Barnes & Noble but those you actually have to read. They are only 9.99 and they are on your folder forever. I have a few movies too but again only one at a time because of the space they take up. I love suspence mysteries. Right now my fav author is Harlan Cobin. I have read all of his books. Very good.

That basket place used to do home parties. I don't know if they still do cause I finally quit buying.

That is a GREAT idea to get your audiobooks from the library! I never even thought to do that. I will have to go there to get them from now on- I have been spending money on them from iTunes. I feel so slow for not realizing they would have audiobooks at the library.

 

[aprilisis]

Animal Kingdom was on our agenda today! We really didn’t do much at AK. We got our FPs for EE, then went to the Dawa Bar. I got a Harambe cooler & we waited for 20 minutes to use our FPs. EE was as great as it always is! After EE, we went to Kilimanjaro Safari & walked right on. Here are some photos from our AK morning & the safari:

One of John’s infamous silly faces: (I swear I have no “normal” photos of him!)

Continued in next post…

 

[aprilisis]

Some of the weird differences I notice…different trash cans on the different “continents”:

Continued in next post:

 

[aprilisis]

I was starting to get a little worn out already, so we went back to the hotel after that.

I really liked the curtains- I don’t know if you can see them, but there are Lion King characters in there.

Next up was DHS- there were PM EMH that night, but I don’t know what made me think I could handle that! We had amazing luck as we walked into the park- a girl handed us 2 FPs for Toy Story Midway Mania that she couldn’t use!!! We walked slowly over & got there right on time. I was not so sure John would like this one, but as we were leaving, he said “That was pretty fun!”
We walked right on Tower of Terror & waited about 10 minutes for Rock n Rollercoaster. After that, I was DONE. John suggested room service & I jumped at the chance. Of course- the food got there and I just couldn’t eat. All I could do was drink tea & water. In the middle of the night I had to get up & change from sweating with fever- it was awful!
Here are a few photos of our surprises in the room & leaving DHS:

 

[wdwgirl03]

Great updates! I love the Animal Kingdom. The AKL has a new sign! Ahhh I am so excited, we are going back in April and staying there again. Can't wait!

The pumpkin pictures are so cool too! We have a little pumpkin display like that around here but it's NOTHING like that. Thanks for sharing.

 

[longing2Batdisney]

Hey! April,
The JOL pictures are awesome!!! I need to try my hand at a normal JOL this year w/Ashton. The last one I did was about 7 yrs ago for Dayne!

Your bday dinner sounded divine and I'm happy you had a great bday!! sooo what could be your Christmas surprise?!?

your AK pictures came out great! and what fun that John like TSM!!
Have a great day!